Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: stag

There has been a church here since Saxon times and the base of the tower is Saxon. On the west wall is a blocked off Saxon doorway with a later oval window at the top. The battlemented top is later and probably late 12th century. The nave is Saxon/Norman although the clerestory and side aisles were added later. The chancel was rebuilt in the 19th century. This cross was found built into the tower wall in 1911. The back of the cross we just saw. A hunter, two hounds and a stag

Ely was founded in 673 by St Æthelthryth, daughter of King Anne of East Anglia, by founding an abbey to the north of the village of Cratendune in the Isle of Ely. Queen Æthelthryth from Northumbria was on the run from her husband Ecgfrith, whom she refused to sleep with for twelve years in order not to break an oath of chastity. Ten years after her death, her body is said to have remained uncorrupted. She was reinterred in a marble sarcophagus, which was described as miraculous and attracted many pilgrims. When the Normans under William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066, Ely was successfully defended under Hereward the Wake until the clergy handed over the Isle of Ely to the king in 1071 on condition that they were allowed to retain all the rights and privileges they had enjoyed since the time of Edward the Confessor. A diocese of Ely was founded as early as 1109. Ely Cathedral is widely recognised as a prime example of Romanesque-Norman architecture due to its Romanesque core and Norman basic concept. A large number of its structural elements are in Gothic forms, the use of which began here as early as the 12th century. Under William the Conquerer, the new Romanesque abbey church was begun in 1083 by the Norman abbot Simeon, a former monk of St Ouen near Rouen, who was already 90 years old at the time. Work began with the choir. The eastern transept was built between 1087 and 1093 with aisles originally running around three sides of the wings. The arcades of this transept are now the oldest parts of the first construction phase. The 12-bay nave dates from the 12th century and has the highest nave in England. It was completed in 1180 and has a three-part elevation with alternating columns and galleries. The portal on the south aisle dates from around 1140 with a depiction of the Majestas Domini. An influence from south-west France is likely. The door led to the cloister, which no longer exists. After a break of thirty years, the west tower and west transept were completed. The new master builder succeeded in completing the work, which had begun in Romanesque forms, by consistently using early Gothic pointed arches, without creating disharmony between old and new. Under Bishop Hugh of Northwold, the polygonal Romanesque choir was demolished and replaced from 1234 by the present six-bay Gothic choir, completed in 1252. The Prior's Door (1135) Details of the left side Drinker, stag, ram, boar

Until the 9th century the area around Kilpeck was within the Welsh kingdom of Ergyng. After the Norman conquest it became part of Herefordshire. In the Domesday Book of 1086, Kilpeck was given by William the Conqueror to William Fitz Norman de la Mare. The clan de la Mare is one of the oldest in Normandy and is descended from Ragnvald Eysteinsson, earl of Møre and Romsdal. The village of Kilpeck is renowned for its small but outstanding Norman/Romanesque) St Mary and St David's Church. The church was built around 1140. In 1143 it was given to the Abbey of Gloucester. It may have replaced an earlier Saxon church at the same site, and the oval raised form of the churchyard is typical of even older Celtic foundations. When the church was built, the area around Kilpeck was relatively prosperous and strategically important. The economic decline of the area after the 14th century may have helped preserve features which would have been removed elsewhere. However, it is unclear why the carvings were not defaced by Puritans in the 17th century. The carvings in the local red sandstone are remarkable for their number and their fine state of preservation. The carvings are all original and in their original positions. They have been attributed to a Herefordshire School of stonemasons, probably local but who may have been instructed by master masons recruited in France by Oliver de Merlimond. He was steward to the Lord of Wigmore, Hugh Mortimer, who went on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain and, on his return, built a church with similar Romanesque carvings at Shobdon, 30 miles north of Kilpeck. Hugh de Kilpeck, a relative of Earl Mortimer, employed the same builders here. There are a very large number of corbels. Some are quite peculiar. Here is a horse, a bird and a stag.

This building, located next to (younger) San Vitale, was commissioned by Galla Placidia. It was erected 425 - 430 as an oratory dedicated to Saint Laurentius (= Lawrence of Rome). It once was connected to Santa Croce, the church for the imperial palace, built in 417 but now in ruins. Santa Croce was as well commissioned by Galla Placidia. This is a late Roman building. Though the "The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia" may not have been built as a mausoleum, it now contains three sacrophagi. It is known for it´s mosaics. Two deers approaching a spring. This mosaic probably reflects Psalm 42:1 "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God." Above the mosaic is a window with an alabaster pane. - Gallia Placida, after whom the building is named, was born ~390 in Constantinople. Her father was Theodosius I, the last emperor to rule over the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. She was granddaughter of Valentinian I and the half-sister of emperors Arcadius and Honorius. When the Visigoths conquered the Italian peninsula, the "Nobilissima Puella" was captured by Alaric. After his death, she was taken as a hostage to Gaul by Alaric´s brother in law Athaulf in 412. After the Romans had attacked the Visigoths in Gaul, she was not returned to Rome, but married by Athaulf. In 415 Athaulf was stabbed by servants of his successor Sigeric, who then killed Athaulf´s six children (from an earlier marriage) and abused the young widow. Days later Sigeric was assassinated and was replaced by Wallia, a relative of Athaulf. He signed a treaty with Galla Placidia´s half-brother and Roman Emperor Honorius and so she could finally return to Rome. Honorius then forced her into marriage to Constantius III in 417, who was a sucessful military general and the power behind the throne. In 421 he even briefly became co-emperor of the Western Empire with Honorius. The couple had two children: Justa Grata Honoria, famous for her plea of love and help to Attila the Hun, and Valentinian III, born 419. After their father´s death and before the political turmoil started, Galla Placidia fled to Constantinople with her kids. When they returned to Italy in 425, Valentinian was installed as Western Emperor at the age of six. The young Emperor ruled under the regency of his mother Galla Placidia. Her regency ended, when Valentinian reached his eighteenth birthday in 437. Galla Placidia died in Rome in 450 - and was probably not buried in this mausoleum. Her son Valentinian III was assasinated five years later.

The abbey at Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire (originally known as Fleury Abbey) was founded on the banks of the Loire river mid 7th century. It is one of the oldest abbeys of the Benedictine rule in France. The story starts in 672, when some of its monks traveled to Montecassino (Italy), dug up the remains of St. Benedict of Nursia (+ 547) and his sister St. Scholastica and brought them home. After the relics had reached at Fleury Abbey it which was renamed Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire - and due to the relics became a major place of pilgrimage. Of course, this did not help when the Normans rowed up the Loire and burned the buildings of the monastery. But the convent recovered and rebuilt. A famous school and a scriptorium existed here in the late 10th century. The erection of the church started around 1071. When the church was consecrated in 1108, the long nave was not completed. The abbey thrived, but times got rougher. In 1562, the abbey was pillaged by Huguenots. The buildings were restored, but looted and destroyed again during the French Revolution. Saint-Benoît's monks left the abbey and so the history of the convent ended after more than 1100 years. The abbey church had escaped destruction and got restored in the 19th century. In 1944, the convent was refounded the abbey buildings were rebuilt by Benedictine monks after World War II. So the history of the convent was just interrupted for about 150 years. "Tour de Gauzlin", the massive porch tower, erected from 1020 on, serves as a narthex for the west entrance. The columns are decorated with interesting capitals, that were probably carved around 1080. One artist, who worked here, was Unbertus. He left a signature on a carving (see one of the previous uploads) that is similar to this one. Here is a classic, corinthian capital, that even Callimachus would have liked, enriched with a Romanesque hunting scene. One stag escapes to the left, while the rider and his dog (seen over the horse´s hoof) are just catching the stag to the right. Two pheasants are undisturbed on the frieze to the right. Horses were definitely smaller 800 years ago.

When Riwallon le Roux returned from the Holy Land to Dinan after the First Crusade, he immediately started to build this church in 1132. There is no proof about this, but the first written document from 1131 noted down, that Riwallon´s nephew Alain de Dinan transfers the ownership of this church to the Abbey of Saint-Jacut (20kms north). Following this, the Basilica of Saint-Sauveur was part of a priory, dependent from the abbey. The facade of the Basilique Saint-Sauveur dates back to the 12th century. Most carvings are very weathered. Here are capitals, populated by mystic creatures. From left to right: Large,worm-like chimeras hold a small (horned) devil , a lion (?), a deer (weathered antler) and a very well fed mermaid.

A priory of the Abbey Sainte-Barbe en Auge (100 kms east) existed nearby since 1107. "Notre Dame" (co-dedicated to "Sainte Barbe") was given to the priory in 1165. An inscription in the apse tells, that the church was consecrated in 1128. The choir and apse, constructed during the Romanesque period, still exist pretty complete. Within the 19th century a sacristy was "glued" onto the apse. So the large carving, that once was outside - now is inside (the sacristy). Here is a detail of that large carving (see previous upload). The semicircular part over the window/door has a hunting scene. On the left is a stag, attacked by a dog. ON the right side, hidden by a tree in the center, a centaur / sagittarius waiting for the right moment to shoot the arrow.

A priory of the Abbey Sainte-Barbe en Auge (100 kms east) existed nearby since 1107. "Notre Dame" (co-dedicated to "Sainte Barbe") was given to the priory in 1165. An inscription in the apse tells, that the church was consecrated in 1128. The choir and apse, constructed during the Romanesque period, still exist pretty complete. Within the 19th century a sacristy was "glued" onto the apse. So this impressing, large carving around a window/door, once outside, but now can be seen from the sacristy. The carvings is stunning and I´ll upload two closeups next.

The parish church "Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption" in the center of Tamerville has a remarkable Romanesque tower. The church (and the tower) were erected mid 12th century, but the church got enlarged and altered over the time. The church was dedicated to Saint Mayeul (aka "Mayeul de Cluny", "Majolus of Cluny"). Saint Mayeul, important abbot of Cluny, built Cluny II. There must have been a connection to the Burgundy in the early times. The capital is cut into halves by the "Baroque" decoration (see previous upload). To the right a hunter on a horse, blowing his horn. He chases a stag (left).